The visit will take place in Cape Town, the Presidency said in a statement on Sunday.

The last official visit to South Africa by a German president was 20 years ago by then President Roman Herzog, it said.

“This week’s state visit follows a bilateral meeting between President Ramaphosa and German Chancellor Dr Angela Merkel on the margins of the G20 Africa Summit in Berlin towards the end of October 2018. This meeting re-energised relations between South Africa and Germany and provided the opportunity for the President to highlight the strategic importance of the relationship between the two countries.”

During a business breakfast meeting in Berlin, Ramaphosa encouraged German business leaders to continue investing in South Africa and expressed appreciation for the significant role German companies continued to play in developing skills and building capacity in South Africa.

Relations between South Africa and Germany were cordial, multifaceted, and of a strategic nature. The importance of Germany to South Africa’s national and international interests could be seen in Germany’s support of South Africa’s domestic objectives, such as fostering economic growth, overcoming poverty and social imbalances, increasing the skills base, and supporting efforts to combat the effects of climate change.

Germany and South Africa also has a robust and growing trade relationship, with Germany being South Africa’s third-largest global trading partner in 2017, the Presidency said.

Germany is also one of the largest foreign investors in South Africa, with more than 600 German companies having subsidiaries or production facilities in the country, sustaining about 100 000 jobs.

The state visit would afford both leaders an opportunity to discuss multilateral issues and to cooperate closely as non-permanent members of the United Nations Security Council for a two-year term from 2019-2020.

“It is expected that the visit will lead to the signing of trade and investment agreements between South Africa and Germany,” the Presidency said.